Building an Anti-Racist Vocabulary
The opposite of racist isn't 'not racist.' It is 'antiracist.' What's the difference?
One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an antiracist. One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an antiracist. One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist. There is no in-between safe space of 'not racist.’
Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist
The Klau Center for Civil and Human Rights presents Building an Anti-Racist Vocabulary, a lecture series and associated course presenting preeminent scholars, thought leaders, and public intellectuals to guide our community through topics necessary to an understanding of systemic racism and racial justice. The series is self-consciously an entry point, designed to provide intellectual and moral building blocks to begin the transformative work of anti-racism in our students, on our campus, and in our broader communities.
For students
Building an Anti-Racist Vocabulary is available as a one-credit course for Notre Dame students. The entire course will be offered via Zoom for all participants. In addition to attending the weekly lectures, students will also participate in three small-group sessions and write a brief reflection paper. Students who do not register for the class are welcome and encouraged to join individual lectures as noted below.
Course registration information here
For the Notre Dame community
Each session in the series will be synchronously available, via Zoom, to any member of the Notre Dame community—students, staff, faculty, or alumni. Join us for the whole series, or even just one lecture.
You must register to attend any part of the series. Registration provides access to all of the lectures, but you may choose which lectures to attend. We recommend early registration, as space is limited, but you may do so at any time during the semester. An nd.edu or alumni.nd.edu email address is required. Alumni who wish to obtain an alumni.nd.edu email address may do so at the Notre Dame Alumni Association, here.
Please note that attendance is limited for each lecture in the series. We invite you to register, but cannot guarantee that all registrants will be able to attend every session.
For the public
Video recordings and suggested readings from many lectures will be available as the series unfolds. Check here for the latest uploads.
Guest Experts
Friday, August 21: "Moral Imperative"
12:45 p.m. ET
Archbishop Wilton Gregory
Archdiocese of Washington
Friday, August 28: "The 1619 Project/Reparations"
12:45 p.m. ET
Nikole Hannah-Jones, BA '98
The New York Times Magazine
Friday, September 4: "Tulsa"
12:45 p.m. ET
James Goodwin, BA '61
Editor, The Oklahoma Eagle
Friday, September 11: "Islamophobia"
12:45 p.m. ET
Dalia Mogahed
Director of Research, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
Friday, September 18: "Racial Wealth Gap"
12:45 p.m. ET
Mehrsa Baradaran
University of California Irvine and Author, The Color of Money
Friday, September 25: "Flint"
12:45 p.m. ET
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha
Director, Michigan State University and Hurley Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Public Health Initiative and Author, What the Eyes Don't See
Friday, October 2: "The Black Lives Matter Syllabus"
12:45 p.m. ET
Frank Leon Roberts
New York University
Friday, October 9: "Housing Segregation"
12:45 p.m. ET
Richard Rothstein
Distinguished Fellow, Economic Policy Institute and Author, The Color of Law
Friday, October 16: "Allyship"
12:45 p.m. ET
Austin Channing Brown
Author, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Friday, October 23: "Health Inequity"
12:45 p.m. ET
Dr. Rhea Boyd, BA '06
Director of Strategy and Equity, California Children's Trust
Friday, October 30: "Voting Rights"
12:45 p.m. ET
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
82nd Attorney General of the United States (2009-2015), Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
Friday, November 6: "COVID Racial Data Tracking"
12:45 p.m. ET
Rachel Lee
Center for Antiracist Research